


Lost Citizen

by StarshadowNoir



Category: RWBY, Warframe
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-30
Updated: 2020-01-13
Packaged: 2020-02-10 05:48:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 6,311
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18654169
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarshadowNoir/pseuds/StarshadowNoir
Summary: A Tenno has been separated from the Origin System, and her friends and allies. With naught but limited supplies, a malfunctioning Cephalon, and her wits, she must adapt and survive in her new environment. But that won't be a problem, as Tenno are trained to be able to adapt to any scenario.Post Second Dream/War Within/Sacrifice. Minor/major spoilers for The War Within/The Second Dream.This is the long-overdue rewrite of Citizen Without an Empire. Hope you all enjoy this. Please comment your thoughts, so I know how to improve the story.Operator has physically recovered from the long period spent in a transference pod during the Second dream, and looks similar to an average person now. Well, average if not for the Void scarring on her face.





	1. Cause and Effect

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've made a collection of useful images for the story here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Z9zd-DqWNBVSZuSa4b6zE9fZDsUXd21b?usp=sharing

As far as she could tell, the mission was going well. It was a standard mobile defense run. Get in, defend the terminals, get out. The only significantly irritating part was the mission’s location. The Void, a place where all logic and physics break down, and weaker minds will inevitably be swayed by the influence of the Orokin technology guarding these ancient relics of an age long past.

The Tenno, Danielle, was running solo on a mission, wielding her Limbo Prime. A few minutes later, she began moving quickly toward extraction. Despite having taken heavy losses, the Corrupted were well capable of sending large groups of mind-drone slave-soldiers to secure the tower again, and she would rather not deal with them.

As she entered her landing craft, a blast shook the Orokin tower, jarring her. Suddenly, it, and her ship, began to shake. Moments later, a massive explosion rocked the ship, and several seconds later, a large unregulated Void gate appeared, dragging the Danielle through it.

“Operator?! What happened? Where are we? Have the Corrupted caused this---DISASTER---problem? My apologies, Operator. My systems seem to be experiencing issues. I will attempt to repair the malfunctioning circuits at the first available opportunity.” Danielle's constant companion and ship AI, Cephalon Xynos, asked.

Sighing, she replied, “I’m not sure, Xynos. The mission was executed perfectly, then things went south during extraction. We got tossed through some sort of Void gate. No idea where we are.”

“Very well. I will scan for signs of life.” Xynos spoke, in her robotic monotone common to most Cephalons.

A minute later, Xynos’ hologram flickered back into existence. “I detect four large strongholds near which the majority of the inhabitants reside. Further data is unable to be gathered from our current position.”

“Perhaps we should land, and investigate.” Xynos spoke, using the ship’s data transmission console.

“Thank you, Xy. Set course for the nearest stronghold.” the operator spoke.

A moment later, something odd began.

“Operator? What is happening? I feel odd.” as she watched, a blue energy outline appeared, emerging from Xynos’s main console, solidifying into a humanoid female shape, with neon pink hair and eyes, light brown skin, and a standard Tenno uniform, the Zariman suit, in grey, with black highlights. It took a step forward, and spoke.

“Greetings, Operator. I am Xynos.”

Stunned, Danielle stood there for a minute processing everything that had just happened  in the last ten minutes. Coming to her senses, she said, “Ah, kubrow droppings!”


	2. Landfall

*at the landing site*

After activating the Scimitar’s cloaking, a little-known perk of owning one of Baro Ki’teer’s enhanced prisma models, Danielle said, "Alright, first objective, we need to figure out where we are.”

Xynos spoke up then. “Operator, we are currently three kilometers west of the nearest settlement. I would recommend travelling there.”

“Understood. That's a good idea. Let’s move, preferably before this planet’s native wildlife decides we’re their next meal.” Danielle replied, looking in the direction of Vale, before setting off at a run toward the city.

After a half hour of light running, the Tenno and Cephalon reached the outskirts of Vale. Looking around at the people, Danielle realized that walking around as Limbo would raise all sorts of red flags, so she quickly hid behind a building, before using transference to exit her warframe, sending it back to her ship. Next was her Transference suit. The bulky metallic chestpiece, and similar greaves, were significantly unique, and would blatantly stand out. Shifting the outfit to a much less conspicuous version, with the Koppra hood, Vent Rat cuirass (jacket), Vent Rat greaves (pants), Kubrodon apparel (belt), and the Umbra headpiece, colored a flame-like reddish-orange, and a Zenoriu model mask one of her fellow Tenno had made, similarly colored, though the last bit hung by her waist for now. Now, the only somewhat obvious sign of her “alien” origin was some slight Void scarring around her left eye, made up of rough black marks, faintly glowing with a reddish-orange energy.  
Speaking to herself, though Xynos always heard as well, due to Cephalons being linked to their Operators. “Okay. unknown territory, limited resources. First objective: Determine location. Best course of action, find a library or archive of some sort.”

First course of action decided, Danielle stepped back onto the street, walking through the city, looking at the shops and vendors as she walked. Conveniently, she came across a small bookstore by the name of Tukson’s Book Trade. Opening the door to a ringing from a small bell positioned to alert the occupants of a new person, she approached the counter, as the owner, a dark-haired puma faunus, came out of the back.

“Welcome to Tukson’s Book Trade. Home to every book under the sun.” the man said.

“Every book, huh? Well, well, well. Lucky me. Guess I’m in the right place then. Where are your history books? Oh, and before I forget, your books on technology as well.”

Tukson replied with a small smile, “History’s down at the far end, on the wall to your left. 900s. Technology’s the near end of the same wall. 600’s.”

“Thanks. I’ll take a look. If I find what I’m looking for, I’ll probably buy them.”

“That’s why they’re here, miss. Though it’s perfectly fine to just browse. Doesn’t do any harm.”

“Alright. I’ll get to it then. Thanks again, Tukson. My name is Danielle.”

Following the man's directions, she quickly located the sections she was looking for. First, history. Danielle approached the relevant shelves, picking books off at random, looking for one that had the greatest range of dates, and extensive information on them. Next was technology. If she was to assimilate and blend in, she would have to understand their technology.

After finding two books on what she was looking for, she decided to grab a few fictional stories for fun. Browsing the shelves, Danielle found several she thought were interesting, and grabbed them. On her way to the front, she saw a shelf with titles like “Ninjas of Love, Volumes 1-10” and several other unreadable titles. Picking up the first one, she quickly replaced it, face flaming briefly, as she looked around worried someone spotted her.

Finished with her search, Danielle headed up front with the five books she wanted. Once she got up there, Tukson scanned the books, and read off the total.

“That comes to 40 Lien. Will you need a bag?” He asked.

“I don't think-”, she said as she reached for her credits to pay. Danielle paused, realizing that what she was planning to do with the books would be risking revealing herself as an alien. “Actually, yes, thanks. A bag would be nice.”

“Okay. Here you go.”

“Thank you, Tukson. I'll be back if i ever want more to read.” Luckily, her credits were accepted, and she walked out with a smile on her face, and valuable books in her hand.


	3. Pocket Dimensions And Other Small Things

Once out of sight of people, Danielle opened a hole to her personal pocket dimension, the Rift, and placed the bag of books in it, after removing the history book. Quickly closing the Riftgate, she turned and sat under a tree.

“Great. Now to find out where we are” Danielle thought to herself. She began reading, finding the text incredibly interesting. She was so engrossed in the reading, she hardly noticed time passing as she read. When she finished, hours later, it was to a stiff back, and the sun just below the horizon.

As the Tenno stood, she felt something brush against her leg. Looking down, she saw it was a small dog, which the locals informally named “wolf corgi”. Smiling, Danielle bent down, picking up the small dog, scratching behind its ears, to its happiness, which it showed with a couple short barks, before licking her face. Laughing, Danielle tapped the pups nose, and walked off toward Beacon, carrying the cute, fuzzy, little cuddleball that is the corgi with her.

“I think I’ll call you Heimdall, little guy.” Danielle’s only answer was a short yip, and another attempt to lick her face.

When she reached the airship docks, she quickly paid for a ticket, and headed to the seating near the boarding terminal for her flight. Luckily, she didn't have to wait long, as the next airship was arriving in five minutes. After the brief wait, she boarded the airship, and took a seat.

Once the Bullhead docked, she made her way off the ship, and toward the Beacon Academy tower. Walking through the main Beacon avenue, Danielle encountered a second year team, CFVY.

“Excuse me. Hello. I was just wondering where I could find the Headmaster’s office, as I’m interested in enrolling here.”

The big guy, with several pieces of large, green plate armor on his left arm, replied, “Ozpin’s office is at the top of the tower. He is the one you would need to talk to.”

Nodding in thanks, Danielle replied, “Alright. Thanks. See you around.”

She gazed up at the tower, realizing how tall it looked from the ground. Danielle, now knowing where her goal was, retreated back to her ship, hidden on the edge of the Emerald Forest, somewhat close to the industrial district of Vale. Setting her new four-legged friend on the floor inside, she realized she still needed to get a collar and leash for the dog.

“Eh. another task for tomorrow. It’s too late tonight.” she thought to herself, rubbing between the dogs ears.

The next morning, Danielle woke at exactly seven. Getting up, she checked over her suit, making sure everything was in the right place, and presentable, before exiting the ship.

“Right. First stop, clothes store. As nice as this stuff is, I’ll be extremely obvious if I go back there like this. Definitely need an alternate set of clothes.”

Luckily, she was able to find such a store rather quickly, entered, and began browsing the racks of clothes, before choosing a tight fitting black vest, tights, boots, a silver chain around her torso, silver forearm cuffs, a black cloak, and a black belt with individual Dust carriers, and a digital watch. After trying everything on to ensure it all fit, Danielle paid, and hurried back to her ship to put it on.

Satisfied with her outfit, she replaced the Umbra headpiece, and reattached the Zenoriu mask to the strap around her neck. Next she grabbed her favorite sidearm, the Euphona Prime, and attached it to the holster on her right hip. Kneeling down to give Heimdall a few headpats, she made her way out of the Scimitar, and into Vale. Quickly making her way to the Bullhead docks, paying 20 Lien for a ticket to Beacon, and taking a seat. The airship soon arrived, and she was on her way to the prestigious Academy. Once she arrived, she followed the directions she received the day before, heading straight to the central tower where the Headmaster’s office was located. Stepping into the tower, Danielle located the elevator, and entered, pressing the button for the top floor, assuming that’s where the Headmaster’s office was located. Fortunately,  her guess was correct, and even better, the man she was looking for was inside.

“Hello.” Ozpin said, greeting the Tenno. “How can I help you?”

“I would like to enroll at your academy. How do I do that?”

“Well, most students go through a process of submitting transcripts from previous schools they attended, and then are considered based on their marks at those previous academies. However, for those who do not have a formal academic education, there is a practical entrance exam, in which prospective students are transported into the Emerald Forest for a live fire exercise and assessment.”

“It will have to be the second, as I’ve never attended one of these academies you mention.”

“Very well. I will, however, need some basic information to create your student profile. Name, age, and semblance, to start with.”

“Danielle Robin. 19. My semblance is Riftwalker. I can create and shape Rift energy. This allows me to open pockets of Rift at will, use it as a secondary storage area, and walk through it whenever I want.”

“Thank you. If you will meet Miss Goodwitch by the cliffs, we will begin your practical exam.”

“Understood, Headmaster. I’ll make my way there now.”

Five minutes later, having retrieved her weapons from the ship, Danielle returned to the Beacon cliffs, ready to begin.


	4. Entrance Test

Once Danielle reached the cliffs, she saw Goodwitch and Ozpin standing there.

“What am I doing for the test?” she inquired, stepping onto a nearby conveniently placed square plate emblazoned with the emblem of the Kingdom of Vale.

Ozpin was the first to reply, “You will enter the Emerald Forest, and combat Grimm as you move toward your objective. Once you arrive, you will hold the position for five minutes, without letting a single Grimm to pass or escape. Then, you will retrieve a relic and return here.”

“Understood. Now, how exactly will I get down there?”

Danielle’s only answer was a silent smirk from Ozpin, and a rumble from the plate below her feet, before she was flying through the air, nearly 200 meters above the ground. 

“Oh, FUCK YOU, OZ!” she screamed, before focusing on her descent. Silently thanking Teshin for helping train her in the mastery of her Focus, she concentrated, letting the Void envelop her form, before pushing forward, at an angle toward the ground, flying forward and stopping 35 meters from her initial position. Quickly, she repeated this four more times, reaching the forest floor after the fifth dash. Pausing briefly to recharge her energy, Danielle then turned and sprinted in the direction indicated by the yellow pentagon on her HUD. Reviewing her condition, she noted that the objective was just over 400 meters away. Turning to get a better view, she saw that the marker pointed her deeper into the forest. Nodding to herself, Danielle stood fully, before setting off in the indicated direction.

About ten minutes later, Danielle arrived at the location, her cloak billowing in a light breeze, Dust belt glowing slightly, and her arm armor catching the sun. looking around, she saw the location seemed to be an ancient ruined temple of some kind. Fortunately, due to the temple being in what looked to be an ancient riverbed, the only access route seemed to be a natural choke point, by way of a canyon leading to the structure.

“Heh. Jackpot. Let the Grimm funnel through there, and cut them down once they’re stuck.”

Walking several meters back from the end of the anyone, Danielle pulled the Rogue Ace, her favorite sidearm, from its holster on her right hip, and aimed straight up, before pulling the trigger. The gunshot echoed quite loudly due to the valley’s shape, drawing the attention of every Grimm within five kilometers, which began approaching rapidly.

When the first group of Grimm appeared in the valley, Danielle moved. With a motion of her hands, a 40 meter wide, flame colored sphere appeared at the mouth of the valley. A second later, with another motion, she froze all movement within the Rift. Stepping into the Cataclysm, she drew her sword, Destiny’s Song, and calmly walked toward the assortment of Grimm, about five Beowolves, three Ursa, with two Boarbatusk thrown in as well. With a deep breath, Danielle brought the blade up to chest level, horizontal. She inhaled slowly, allowing the energy flowing through her body to enter the gilded blade, causing the edge to glow orange. Once she had, she began stepping between the Grimm, neatly and calmly severing their heads, the energy in the blade accelerating their already rapid decomposition. In forty seconds, the entire pack had been annihilated, their dark, bony corpses decomposing where they stood, never having had even a second to attempt to injure the Tenno. 

Looking around, Danielle allowed the Cataclysm to collapse on its own, finishing off another four Grimm that had shown up after the slaughter ended. Three minutes later, when no more Grimm came, she turned, heading into the ruins, where there were three stone pedestals, upon which stood three chess pieces; the first was a white castle, the second was a black pawn, the white king, and the fourth and final piece was the black queen. Thinking for barely a second, Danielle grabbed the black queen, before turning and making her way back up to where Ozpin and Goodwitch were waiting.

Handing Ozpin the queen, Danielle spat, “I have no words appropriate for your methods of transporting students to the Emerald Forest, however here is your relic. Objectives complete. Position defended for five minutes, relic retrieved. What now?””  
“Welcome to Beacon, miss Robin. Tomorrow the other students will arrive, and you will participate in Initiation alongside them.”

“Very well. I look forward to it.” Danielle walks off, checking her weapons, reloading them, and brushing off any grime from the fight.

Pausing when she realized something, she turned around and walked back to the Headmaster.

“Professor, are there any unused airship docking bays? My family gave me one, which is where I have been living out of for the past couple days, and I’d like to have it brought up to Beacon.”

“Oh. of course, miss Robin. Just follow me, and I’ll show you where you can land it.”

“Thank you.” she replied, before placing a hand to her ear, activating the comm unit there, “Xynos, bring the Andromeda around to my position please.”

“Right away, Operator.” The ship’s AI fired up the engines, lifting the large airship off the ground, and piloted it to the Academy’s landing pads. Xynos arrived with the ship rather quickly, setting down on an open pad out of the way from the main docks, the ships three landing gear preventing it from crashing to the ground. A moment after it landed, Xynos dropped the cloak that all Prisma model ships had, installed courtesy of Baro Ki’Teer, revealing the wide, flat planes of the “wings”, colored a dark chrome blue, with a black overshadowing the blue toward the fuselage and energy channels on the inner edge of the wings.

Letting the engines spin down, Xynos lowered the entry ramp, allowing the Tenno entry to their ship. The first thing Danielle did when she stepped inside is search for her new fuzzy friend. Laughing to herself when she found him in her personal quarters, trying to bite the holographic display on the Somachord, she sat down, pulling Heimdall into her lap for some well-deserved pats.


	5. Little Red

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a small snippet of what Ruby's doing instead of attacking Torchwick's goons.

*two days ago*

On the other side of Vale, sitting on the couch with her father, lay the small happy form of one silver eyed cookie monster, Ruby Rose. The pair were watching TV, when the young girl turned to her father, readying the most dangerous weapon of all in her arsenal, the dreaded puppy eye stare.

“Dad. why can't I go to Beacon with Yang?”

The bigger man looked down at his younger daughter, and replied, “I’m sorry, sweetheart. You’re still in Signal. Even if you are ahead of your classmates, you are not that far ahead, that a two year jump wouldn’t leave you floundering out of your depth. There are things they don’t teach until the end of primary school. If you jumped ahead now, you’d be left missing that knowledge, and would be left behind the others quickly, no matter what you did. Just do your best, Rosebud, and when you graduate, I’ll talk to Oz about getting you a spot up there, okay?”

Ruby’s face fell, saddened, but understanding. Sensing his master’s mood, Zwei ran up, jumped into ruby’s lap, and began licking her face, and barking excitedly, making Ruby squeal in laughter at the mutt’s antics. Her disappointment at not going to Beacon was quickly forgotten that night.

*elsewhere in Vale*

Roman Torchwick had just somewhat successfully robbed yet another Dust store. Chuckling as he made his escape with a single, though sizable, case of Dust, though his hired muscle did not share his luck, and had been soundly beaten by a Huntress dispatched from Beacon. The lady had wielded nothing more than what looked to be a riding crop, while throwing around chunks of asphalt kicked up by the goons, and said goons, indiscriminately. She’d nearly had him, too, if not for his partner arriving in a Bullhead moments before she could. No self-respecting “Master Thief” would let himself be caught that easily.


	6. Into the Forest

Danielle woke at exactly 6:30, stood, grabbed her weapons, Dust, and cloak, set them on the codex console in her ship, before dressing in her new clothes. Replacing the headpiece in her hair, and the mask around her neck, she straightened up, taking a deep breath, before securing the cloak around her neck, and her Dust belt around her waist. Strapping Rogue Ace to her right hip, and Destiny’s Song on the opposite, with her sniper to her back, she stepped back, took one look at herself in the semi-reflective surface of the Scimitar’s front screen, nodded, and headed to the cliffs for Initiation.

When she arrived, she noted that all but one of the 16 launch pads were occupied. The only open one was between some scraggly, blond noodle of a boy, wearing a basic chestplate, and carrying a sword to her right, and a carefree blonde girl with a mass of hair to her left. Stepping onto the plate, Danielle shifted her weight, adjusting her stance to get the maximum distance from the launch, subtly sending some Void energy to her legs, both to brace them for the rough launch, and to add extra force as she pushed off during it. Closing her eyes as she regulated her breathing, centering her mind, she lifted the mask from her waist, placing it securely on her face, serving a dual purpose of purifying her inhaled air, and blocking dust and grime from going with it.

As the students were launched, Danielle checked her weapons one last time, before her platform triggered and she jumped, sending her much higher than the other students. As she sailed through the air, her eyes scanned her surroundings, looking to see where the other people fell. Knowing absolutely zero people wasn’t exactly conducive to forming a strong team, but she’s dealt with worse. And hadn’t that silver-haired, coffee-drinking asshole say something about the “first person you make eye contact with will be your partner?” Eh, whatever. Focus on your landing, first. Partner later.

Now falling at a sharper angle, and approaching the canopy, Danielle could see those same creatures from before below. A subtle flame lit her eyes as she channeled her energy into her blade, before slamming to the ground on top of an unsuspecting Beowolf, creating a spiderwebbing network of cracks radiating from her landing. Ripping Destiny’s Song from the already disintegrating monster’s skull with a snort, she began her trek to the temple, hoping this would be over quickly.

As Danielle was considering her landing strategy, the tall redhead Spartan had aimed and thrown her spear to save the blond noodle from an untimely death as a bloody splatter on the forest floor. The other blonde she had seen to her left, Yang, had fought two Ursa, and found her partner, a quiet cat faunus named Blake. Dusting herself off from the impact, Danielle ignored the sounds of fighting around her, moving toward the temple where the relics were. After several minutes of hiking through this monster-infested forest, killing any Grimm that crossed her path with a single strike from the blade, or a few shots from her pistol.

She heard some commotion nearby, and, keeping Ozpin's directive to find a partner in mind, approached the scene.

What she found, was the white haired girl from this morning, facing around ten Beowolves. Ignoring most of them, Weiss had focused on a single Grimm, roughly 20 meters away. As Danielle had approached from the side, she was closer to the target than Weiss, and took the opportunity to make herself known in a rather risky manner. She dashed to the Grimm, releasing Destiny's Song from its sheath, and pushing energy into the blade as she did, making its edge glow orange as it sliced cleanly through the Grimm's throat, beheading it, making Weiss fumble and misfire her attack, setting a line of grass, and a tree on fire.

"Hey, watch it!" Danielle yelled.

Weiss indignantly replied, "Excuse me! You attacked out of turn. I could have killed you!"

"Better people than you have tried."

"We have to go" Weiss stated as the flames began to grow, spreading over the grass and slowly climbing several nearby trees.

"What happened back there? That should have been easy."

"If you had been more cautious with your attack, then  _maybe_ I wouldn't have set the forest on fire!"

"You should be more aware of your surroundings. You focused on a single target, blocking out everything else, when you were surrounded by the Grimm. That sort of close-mindedness will lead to you getting yourself injured or killed. You need to be able to adapt to a rapidly changing combat situation, or you  _will_ end up either hurt, or one of your team will be as a result of your narrow focus."

Further conversation was cut short as two giant Grimm, a Nevermore and Deathstalker, showed up, cornering the students. A quick glance at the weapons of the eight students left Danielle with a plan.

“Weiss, Blake, Yang, with me. We’ll deal with the overgrown pigeon. Can you four handle the scorpion?”

An affirmative nod from the noodle, and the teams split to take care of their tasks. Weiss used her Dust to disorient and confuse the Nevermore, Blake used her clones to get up on its back, slashing at it as she ran down, while Yang fired concussive shots from her gauntlets. Unfortunately, it had almost no effect on the giant Grimm.

“Guys, I have an idea. Yang, stun the nevermore. Weiss, immobilize it by freezing it to the cliff. Blake, do what you can to help Yang.”

A quick nod was all the response before the three sprang into action. Danielle, meanwhile had taken the sniper from her back, and extracted two Dust crystals from her belt. One fire, one lightning. Fusing them by pushing some Void energy into them, she then extracted a single bullet from her spare rounds, opening it and inserting the fused Dust crystal, before resealing the round. She went down on one knee, stabilizing her body to line up the shot. The other three girls had successfully confused and immobilized the Grimm. Looking through the scope, Danielle aimed for the eye, then flicked a switch on the side of the scope, doubling the zoom of it, giving her even greater accuracy. She inhaled, holding it for two seconds, before pulling the trigger as she exhaled, sending the highly volatile round straight through the Nevermore’s eye, where it detonated, killing the beast. The other group had also finished off their Grimm.

Back at Beacon, after Initiation was complete, they all met in the auditorium to hear the team announcements.

“Russel Thrush. Cardin Winchester. Dove Bronzewing. Sky Lark. You returned with the black bishop pieces. For your time at this academy, you will be known as team CRDL, led by Cardin Winchester.”

Some scattered cheers and applause was this statements response.

“Jaune Arc. Lie Ren. Pyrrha Nikos. Nora Valkyrie. The four of you carried the white castle pieces. You will work together as team JNPR, led by Jaune Arc.”

This announcement was met with confusion from the boy, and a small smile from his partner.

“Finally, Blake Belladonna, Danielle Robin, Weiss Schnee, Yang Xiao Long. You four chose the white knight pieces. You will work together as team RWBY, led by Danielle Robin.”


	7. The Badge and The Burden

Having been assigned their dorms, given school-issued Scrolls, and the school uniform, team RWBY settled into their new home rather quickly. As they unpacked, Blake very quickly made sure to hide her porn, sorry, mature literature, away from prying eyes. Yang tacked up a poster of some boy band she liked, while Weiss stacked her luggage in a corner, and hung a painting. Danielle, however, simply placed her 5 books on an open portion of the bookshelf, and neatly placed her Dust belt on her bed below her pillow, changing into the uniform, but keeping her cloak on. By the time they finished, it was 8:30, nearly time for class. Never having enjoyed being late, Danielle gave a warning to her team, then headed to the cafeteria for a quick breakfast before jogging to class.  
Once she arrived, she took a seat, and watched the other students arrive. Just before the late bell, the rest of her team and JNPR arrived, stumbling through the door. The professor stood at the front of the room, letting the students settle in before beginning.  
"Monsters! Demons... Prowlers of the night! Yes, the creatures of Grimm have many names, but I merely refer to them as prey! Ha-ha!" the grey-haired old man in a large burgundy suit began. And you shall too, upon graduating from this prestigious academy! Now, as I was saying: Vale, as well as the other three kingdoms, are safe havens in an otherwise treacherous world! Our planet is absolutely teeming with creatures that would love nothing more than to tear you to pieces! And that's where we come in. Huntsmen! Huntresses...Individuals who have sworn to protect those who cannot protect themselves! From what, you ask? Why, the very world! That is why each of you is here. But first: A story. A tale of a young, handsome man... Me! When I was a boy..."  
Once it was clear Port was just going to be the professor telling stories of his youth, Danielle sighed, and pulled a small void key shaped device, with a short pyramid rising from one side, from her bag. With a single tap, a small projection of Xynos’ fragmented hexagonal prism “face” appeared, and began recording the tale, while Danielle lost focus on the man’s story.  
Finishing up his story, Port said, “The moral of this story? A true Huntsman must be honorable! A true Huntsman must be dependable! A true Huntsman must be strategic, well-educated, and wise! So, who among you believes themselves to be the embodiment of these traits?"  
Mildly annoyed at her partner’s apparent disregard for the teacher’s lesson, she nearly shouted, “I do, sir!”  
Weiss changed into her combat clothes, retrieved her rapier from her weapon locker, and returned to class quickly to perform the test for Port. when she returned, there was a large cage in the center of the room, holding a captured Grimm, specifically a Boarbatusk. Yang cheered, "Goooo, Weiss!"  
Blake joined in with, “Fight well!" while Danielle remained silent.  
Port brought his axe down on the cage, releasing the Grimm boar. “Let the match begin!”  
Once free of the cage, the Boarbatusk charges Weiss, who deflects the attack, rolling to gain distance. Weiss turns the tables, charging the Grimm, intending to skewer it on her blade, but fails to do so, her light rapier not piercing the Boarbatusk’s armor. The Grimm shakes it head roughly, disarming Weiss, and knocking her back.  
“How will you continue when disarmed?” Port questioned, seemingly unconcerned with Weiss’ safety. Weiss, meanwhile, is struggling to combat the agile Grimm, even after she now had regained her weapon. Taking a glance at the fight, Danielle realized that the Grimm had almost no armor on its underside. It compensated for that with its rapid, rolling charges.  
“Weiss! It doesn’t leave its underside open. It has less armor there, so try to stun it, then attack.”  
A barely noticeable nod from the heiress, before she refocused on the Boarbatusk, which rolled up and charged her. Taking advantage of the Grimm’s reduced vision and its momentum, Weiss set a glyph in the pig’s path, uncurling when it hit, and Weiss used that opening to lunge in and successfully skewer the monster, leaving it to evaporate like all creatures of Grimm.  
"Bravo! Bra-vo! It appears we are indeed in the presence of a true Huntress-in-training! I'm afraid that's all the time we have for today. Be sure to cover the assigned readings, and... stay vigilant! Class dismissed!" Port announced.  
Weiss glared at her team, before following the professor out the door, and heading to the locker room to change back into her uniform. The three remaining members of RWBY looked after her, confused. On the next table over, Jaune voiced what everyone was thinking, “What's with her?”  
“Yang, Blake, go on ahead to our next class. I’ll try to find out what’s going on with Weiss.”  
“Good luck with the Ice Queen, Danielle.” Yang said, exiting the class with Blake on her heels.  
Sighing deeply, Danielle squared her shoulders, and followed the heiress.  
“Weiss!” she called out.  
Still irritated, she turned around, angrily replying, “What?”  
“What’s going on? Why are you so mad?”  
“Why do you think? I was the last person to get a partner, and then that partner basically ignores everything the teacher says in the FIRST lesson. You’re supposed to be a leader, but all you’ve been is a nuisance!”  
“What exactly did I do to warrant that accusation?”  
“You ignored Professor Port completely, and have shown no respect for any of your fellow students! And you’ve done nothing to earn your position as leader.”  
“Nothing to earn-remind me, how effective were your attacks against the Nevermore in Initiation? How well could you fight on your own? Because from what I could see, you nearly started a forest fire in the process of killing a single Beowolf, while its entire pack had nearly surrounded you. And later, your various attacks with your Dust and your sword were nigh-on useless against the Nevermore. Now, if you still feel that I haven’t ‘done anything to earn my position’, then feel free to challenge me to a duel. If you win, you may be the leader, BUT, if you do not, you will improve your attitude, and accept that I am the leader.”  
Shaking her head in anger, Weiss storms off. Pausing to process the conversation that just happened, Danielle rounded the corner a couple seconds later, only to nearly run into Professor Ozpin.  
“I take it you heard that exchange? Was she right?” Danielle stated.  
“Indeed I did hear, miss Robin. However, as for me granting you the role of leader being a mistake? That remains to be seen.”  
“What do you mean?”  
It has only been one day. I have made more mistakes than any person on this planet. But right now, I would not consider making you team leader one of them.”  
Elsewhere on one of Beacon’s rooftops, Weiss had run into Professor Port.  
“Professor Port!”  
“Ah, Miss Schnee. To what do I owe the pleasure?”  
“I enjoyed your lecture.”  
“Of course you did, you have the blood of a Huntress in you.”  
“You think so?”  
Of course. Hmm, something is bothering you. Tell me, what is it?”  
“I think...I should have been the leader of team RWBY.”  
Port looked at Weiss for a few seconds, before he responded. “That’s preposterous!”  
“Excuse me?!” Weiss huffed.  
“I have believed in Professor Ozpin for many years now, and he has never once led me astray.” the portly professor replied.  
Confused, and more than a bit angry, Weiss asks, “So you would just blindly accept his decision after seeing how exceptional I am?”  
“With all due respect, you combat skill is matched only by your terrible attitude.”  
“How dare you!”  
“My point exactly. Your entire life, you have been given everything you ever wanted.”  
Adopting a more defiant pose, Weiss counters Port’s statement. “That's not even remotely true. Well, not entirely true.”  
“So, the outcome didn't fall in your favor. Why do you believe acting this way would cause those in power to alter their decision? Instead of worrying about what you don't have, enjoy what you do. Hone your skills, perfect your technique, and be the person you can be.”  
Port finishes speaking, and turns to leave.  
In the hall by Port’s classroom, Ozpin and Danielle continue talking.  
“Being team leader is not just a title you carry into battle, but a badge you wear constantly. If you do not always perform your absolute best, what reason do you give others to follow you?” Ozpin continues. “You have been burdened by a daunting responsibility, Danielle. I suggest you take time to think about how you will uphold it.”  
Several hours later, Danielle sat at a desk by the window in RWBY’s dorm, transcribing the important bits from Port’s lecture, with the help of her cephalon. She had been working for several hours now, and had nearly finished her work, as she was making 4 copies, one for each of her teammates. She had been working for long enough the afternoon sun had been replaced by the shattered moon. Exhausted, Danielle passed out at the desk.  
Weiss noticed, and gently shook her awake.  
“Oh, Weiss. Hey. Must have fallen asleep rewriting the lectures. Thanks for waking me up.” Danielle blurted. She stood and climbed into the top bunk on her and Weiss’ side of the room.  
“Listen. I want to apologize for how harsh I was to you after Port’s class. Neither of us is particularly pleased about our situation, but there's nothing we can do to change it. You feel slighted not being chosen as leader, and I prefer working solo. As it stands, both of us will have to suck it up, and learn how to adapt to a situation that did not necessarily fall in our favor. The way I see it, all we can do is make the best of our situation. Good night, Weiss. See you in the morning.”


End file.
